Mr. Speaker, the conduct of Marcel Proulx, the Liberal candidate in the riding of Hull—Aylmer, leaves something to be desired, to say the least.
Even the government's complacent ethics commissioner is obliged to admit that Mr. Proulx has stretched the rules of ethics a bit too far by not revealing his financial problems when he became Marcel Massé's chief of staff.
The allegation against Mr. Proulx is not of a criminal nature, of course, but his conduct says a lot about the lack of ethics he has shown in recent years.
Mr. Proulx certainly does not engender pride among the citizens of Hull—Aylmer, any more than he engenders pride among the members of the Liberal Party of Canada, even though Liberal supporters are trying to explain to the people of Hull—Aylmer that Mr. Proulx's behaviour is not so serious and that he can justify it.
The fact remains that Mr. Proulx has just entered politics with at least one strike against him already.